Colombia beef output to slow; chicken to increase

Colombia's beef production growth is expected to slow in the coming years, while poultry meat output is expected to continue growing.

Growth in Colombia's beef production has been unimpressive over the past 30 years, though it grew 25.4 percent to 840,000 tonnes from 2004 to 2008, according to BMI's Colombia Agribusiness Report.

The expansion was driven by healthy economic growth and successful policies, which made investors more willing to pump in funds. But the world economic slowdown will put a stop to the rapid growth in beef production as consumers are forced to reduce food budgets and as beef demand declines.

From 1985 to 2005, Colombia's poultry sector experienced a boom, expanding more than five-fold. Colombia produced just over one million tonnes of poultry meat in 2008, overtaking beef as the country's most significant meat product on a volume basis.

Poultry production has continued to prosper as it is far less land-intensive than cattle farming, and demand was driven by the lower price commanded by chicken compared to beef.

Therefore, poultry meat production is expected to continue growing as larger, more efficient producers develop.